Education Acts and Reports Essay

Integration of the various racial and ethnic groups, the central aim of the 1 Malaysia concept, had always been the primary concern of the governments’ education policy since Independence in 1957. In fact the Razak education report of 1956 and the Rahman Talib report of 1960 had delineated clear guidelines and emphasise national integration. Compare and contrast out the aims and provision of Barnes Report (1950), Fenn-Wu Report (1951), the Razak Report (1956) and the Rahman Talib Report (1960). After World War Two, the education system in Malaya was pretty much in shambles, and until Malaya achieved her independence in 1957, much had to be done to map out a new education system for the nation. Efforts began with the introduction of a new, national education system with English as the one and only medium of instruction, but eventually, an education system was formed in which Malay became the main medium of instruction. In 1949, a Central Advisory Committee on Education was set up to aid the government in deciding on the best form of education system, which could be implemented in Malaya, to be the catalyst in fostering national unity. In 1950, the Barnes Committee came out with the Barnes Report, which proposed that all primary vernacular schools maintain one single standard and become national schools using the same syllabus but bilingual languages, which were Malay and English. Secondary schools, however, had to maintain English as their mode of instruction. One year later in 1951, there was the Fenn-Wu Report, which whole-heartedly supported the formation of a national education system, but felt that the Chinese-medium schools should be maintained. Their argument was that the country could still achieve unity although there was diversity in the medium of instruction. It was only in 1952 that the Education Ordinance was passed, based on the Barnes Report. This did not garner good response from the Chinese and Indians, who protested the abolition of their mother tongues as one of the mediums of instruction. Due to the failing economy and shortage of trained teachers for the national schools, however, the Education Ordinance of 1952 was not fully implemented. Three years later in 1955, another committee was formed, this time chaired by Dato’ Abdul Razak Hussein and it was given the task of reviewing the education system of Malaya. The committee received 151 memorandums from individuals, public bodies and associations. After much deliberation, the Razak Committee proposed, one year later, the following: †¢ The education system should comprise two types of primary school – standard primary schools that use Malay as their medium of instruction, and standard-type primary schools that use either Kuo-Yu or Tamil or English as the medium of instruction. Both these schools, however, would rely on a common syllabus. †¢ Both types of primary school should enforce Malay as a compulsory subject. †¢ All National Secondary Schools should use a common syllabus and examination and enforce Malay and English as their compulsory subjects. †¢ All teachers, regardless of which school they would eventually teach at, should be trained with a common syllabus in teachers’ training colleges. In 1960, the Rahman Talib review committee was commissioned to study the Razak Report, with the aim of strengthening its implementation and emphasizing the use of Malay as the medium of instruction. The Rahman Talib Report became the basis for the Education Act 1961, which was subsequently passed by the Parliament. Three main components were maintained: i. A common schooling system for all races; ii. The national language as the main medium of instruction for all level of schooling; and iii. A common national-based school curriculum and examination. The 1996 Education Act was formulated as a continuation modernisation of the 1961 Education Act. Describe the main provision of the 1996 Education Act and their application in the education system and in the schools. The Razak Report can be regarded as the foundation for the development of the National Education System used. The main issues in the National Education were: i) The desire to form one National Education System for all races; ii) To make the Malay language the main medium of instruction; iii) To establish a curriculum orientated towards the local environment through the formulation of a common education syllabus with similar contents; and iv) Strengthen the National Education System for all students in it. The development of the formation of the Education Act was continued in order to resolve several requests voiced by the different races in Malaysia and to improve on suggestions recommended in the Razak Report. This was known as the Rahman Talib Report (1960) and it became the basis for the formation of the 1961 Education Act. Amongst the changes and amendments made to the Razak Report were: primary education was free; primary schools became national schools and national-type schools; advanced education was extended to 15 years of age; students advanced to the next standard automatically; Islamic studies for students when there were not less than 15 students; and Moral education was given due attention. After the 1960 Abdul Rahman Talib Report, there come more reports for example  the Hussien Onn Report (1971) and 1979 Mahathir Report. Both these Reports were done to re-examine the Country’s Education Policy which was based on the Razak and Rahman Talib Reports. The 1996 Education Act was formulated as a continuation and modernization of the 1961 Education Act. The aim of the 1996 Education Act was towards strengthening the National Education System for the next generation in line with the needs and aspirations of the country to make Malaysia an international centre for educational excellence. Even though the Education Act 1996 was a new legislation, it reflected a continuity of the wishes and policies of the existing education system. It was formed along the main recommendations of the Razak Report, 1956 which was the basis of the National Education Policy till then. The new Act also continued some of the relevant suggestions from the Education Act 1961. The objective for drafting the laws (Education Act 1996) was to widen the scope and introduce legislation on education. Clause 152 of the Malaysian Constitution has positioned the Malay Language as the National Language to ensure unity of its population. The National Education Philosophy was made a basis of the National Education Act formulated after taking into account the views and aspirations of all sectors. The aim of the Education system in Malaysia was formulated based on the objective found in the National Ideology, National Education Policy and New Economic Policy (NEP). Among the objectives of the Education System in Malaysia are: i) Production of quality education; ii) Production of educated and skilled students; iii) Production of unified community; iv) Social community development; v) Production of quality workforce; vi) Economic production, especially in rural areas; vii) Formation of responsible and commited citizens in a democratic country; viii) Restructuring of socio-economic structure of the population as stated in the New Economic Policy (NEP); and ix) Eradication of poverty. By the Education Act, the concept of the National Education System was improved with the inclusion of all levels of schooling from pre-school to higher education, covering all school categories which is government, government-assisted and public schools. The position of National Language was enhanced with its allocation as the main medium of instruction in the National Education System. This was further strengthened when the language was made a compulsory subject at all schools and educational institutions. The Clauses 152 of the Malaysian Constitution had positioned the Malay Language as a National Language to ensure racial unity. The position of the Malay Language became even more secured when the National Language Act was passed in 1967. Beginning 1970, the medium of instruction in English primary schools were changed to the National Language in stages. Several measures were taken to develop the Malay Language including the establishment of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in 1956, the launch of â€Å"Language Week† and â€Å" Language Month† to encourage the use of the Malay Language and the launce of the â€Å"Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa† slogan in 1960. Other methods included the establishment of secondary schools which used the Malay Language as a medium of instruction, for example in Alam Shah School, Sri Puteri School and Sultan Abdul Halim School. The curriculum for all types and categories of schools were coordinated in line with the country’s need, when the usage of the National Curriculum allocated in the Education Act 1996 became compulsory for all. Students from all types and categories of schools were prepared to sit for examination conducted by the Government and as a result, it simplified the usage of a common evaluation or appraisal method on the achievement of students from schools in the country. Religious Studies were extended to include Muslim students from all categories of schools including public schools and strengthened by making the subject one of the core subjects in schools. With the existence of allocation that allowing the Minister of Education to establish and manage kindergarten, the less fortunate from the rural areas were given a chance to get pre-school education which is considered a good basis when starting primary education. The quality of education programmes at all kindergartens could be improved as it is compulsory for all these kindergarten to use the Pre-school Curriculum Guidelines produced by the Education Ministry. In line with the efforts to culturalize the education of science and technology, technical education were improved in secondary technical schools and polytechnic institutions. The Education Act 1996, made it easier for the status of vocational schools to be upgraded to that of technical schools, while polytechnic institutions can conduct co-operative programmes with any institutions, agencies or industrial organizations to manage technical or vocational courses or training programmes, including exchange programmes. Polytechnic institutions are allowed to conduct twinning programmes for diploma and degree courses with Higher Education Institutions either locally or internationally. Teachers’ training was strengthened with the allocation that allowed the Ministry of Education to organize Teachers’ Education Programmes at certificate, diploma and degree levels in pairs. Private education was developed in a more systematic manner with specific allocations. Attention was also given to vocational education for this particular group of students. However, intensive vocational training, for example for blind students was given after they left school. The most important component in the special mixed education was the resource teachers who were responsible not only for teaching handicapped students but also assisting the normal teachers, build and prepare teaching and learning materials as well as provide counseling service for the students. Realising that Malaysia is a multi-racial country, and based on political discussions conducted by previous leaders, the Education Act 1996 took into consideration the rights of all races by maintaining the status quo of national type of primary schools and 60 private Chinese schools. Apart from that, the United Examination carried out by these schools as well as the conforming schools and mission schools, the Board of Supervisor was also maintained. The Education Act 1996 also allocated for the teaching of languages or natives living in the country if it is deemed acceptable and practical. Religious classes like bible classes do not have to be registered under the 1996 Education Act. The Malaysia Qualification Agency (MQA) was established on the 1st of November 2007 with the enactment of the Malaysia Qualification Agency Act (Act 679). As a result MQA takes on the role of LAN as well as playing a more comprehensive role as stated in the Act. What are the main features of the Malaysia Qualification Agency? In what ways is the Agency playing a bigger role than the defunct National Accreditation Board (LAN)? Please refer to the MQA website for more information http://www. mqa. gov. my. The National Accreditation Board or Lembaga Akreditasi Negara (LAN) was established in 1996 under the Parliament Act and was the national quality assurance agency for private higher educational institutions. Meanwhile, the quality assurance divisions under the Ministry of Higher Education supervised the quality of public universities, polytechnics and public community colleges. On 1st of November 2007, a new agency Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) was established under a new education legislation the Malaysian Qualification Act 2007. This new Malaysian Qualification Agency replace the following agency: * Lembaga Akreditasi Negara (established under Act 556), for private higher educational institutions * The Quality Assurance Division of MOHE, for public universities * The Quality Assurance Division of MOHE, for polytechnics & community colleges MQA comes under the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). MQA acted as a national body to implement the national framework known as the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF), to accredit higher educational qualifications, to regulate the quality of higher education providers, to establish and maintain the Malaysian Qualification Register. The establishment of a new entity which merges National Accreditation Board (LAN) and the Quality Assurance Division, Ministry of Higher Education (QAD) was approved by the Government on 21st December 2005. This entity is responsible for quality assurance of higher education for both the public and the private sectors. The main role of the MQA is to implement the Malaysian Qualification Framework (MQF) as a basis for quality assurance of higher education and as the reference point for the criteria and standards for national qualifications. The MQA is responsible for monitoring and overseeing the quality assurance practices and accreditation of national higher education. With the vision to be a credible and internationally recognized higher education quality assurance body and the mission to inspire the confidence of its stakeholders through best practices, the MQA is set to chart new boundaries in higher education quality assurance. The MQA Act is designed to promote the dynamic growth of higher education and the portability of Malaysian qualifications. It should inspire the confidence of parents, students, employers, both local and international in the standards of qualifications and quality of their delivery. The MQA Act 2007 comprises the following 16 parts: Part I: Preliminary definitions Part II: Malaysian Qualification Agency Part III: Malaysian Qualification Council Part IV: Provisions Relating to Employees Part V: Financial Provisions Part VI: Malaysian Qualification Framework Part VII: Provisional Accreditation Part VIII: Evaluation of other Qualifications Part X: Institutional Audit Part XI: National Qualification Register Part XII: Appeals Part XIII: Enforcement and Investigation Part XIV: Offences and Penalties Part XV: Miscellaneous Part XVI: Repeal, Savings and Transitional The 16 parts of MQA Act include the provision for: * The establishment of MQA as the agency with overarching responsibility for assuring the quality of all post secondary programmes and qualifications provided by higher education providers in the country. * The establishment of the Malaysian Qualification Framework (MQF). * Provisional accreditation as the initial process towards accreditation. * Accreditation that takes into consideration the diversity of higher education in Malaysia : local program under MQF, foreign programmes including collaborative arrangements, distance and e-learning, professional programmes and skill qualifications. * Registration of qualifications from self-accrediting institutions. * Recognition of prior learning and experience and credit transfers. * The Malaysian Qualifications Register (MQR) as the national reference point for all qualification that have been accredited. As a quality assurance body, the functions of MQA are: * To implement MQF as a reference point for Malaysian qualification. * To develop standards and criteria and all other relevant instruments as national references for the conferment of awards with the cooperation of stakeholders. * To quality assure higher education institutions and programmes. * To accredits courses that fulfill the set criteria and standards. * To facilitate the recognition and articulation of qualifications. * To maintain the Malaysian Qualification Register (MQR). The establishment of the MQA and the implementation of the MQF will benefit national higher education and the development of human capital. In the Quality Assurance System, MQA has developed a code of practice on criteria and standards for higher education in Malaysia. This code of practice is benchmarked against international good practices and nationally accepted by stakeholders through various consultations. The code provides a guideline of general requirements in the following areas: * Vision, mission and learning outcomes. * Curriculum design and delivery. * Student selection and support services. * Assessment of students * Academic staff * Educational resources * Program monitoring and review. * Leadership, governance and administration. * Continuous quality improvement. In general, MQA quality assures programmes through two distinct processes: * Provisional Accreditation – this is initial process which will help higher education providers to achieve the accreditation by enhancing the standard and quality set in the provisional accreditation evaluation. * Accreditation – this is a formal recognition that the certificates, diplomas or degrees awarded by higher education institutions are in accordance with the set standards. The MQA Act 2007 also provides for the conferment of a self accrediting status to mature higher education institutions that have well established internal quality assurance mechanisms. To be so conferred, the higher education institution needs to undergo an institutional audit, and if successful, all qualifications it offers will be automatically registered in the MQR. The processes above are further supported by continuous monitoring to ensure the programmes offered by the institution are always quality assured. Further, nine criteria have been benchmarked as international best practice, which forms the basis of the accreditation assessment. Accreditation will be the highest status in quality assessment done by MQA. It will be the guarantee given by MQA to all stakeholders of higher education which include students, parents, employers, etc. that programmes accredited by MQA are quality programmes. Once the courses of study are accredited, the accreditation status will remain for as long as the institution can meet the framework requirements and QA standard and criteria as well as institutional mission under the MQA’s Institutional Audit. RUJUKAN Akta Pendidikan 1961. (1984). International Law Book Service. Kuala Lumpur Akta Pendidikan 1996. (1998). International Law Book Service. Kuala Lumpur Federation of Malaya. (1951). Report of the Committee on Malay Education. Kuala Lumpur: Government Press. Tie Fatt Hee (2000). Undang-undang Pendidikan di Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Fajar Bakti.

Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin Danielle Arnold L. Scott Roberts Art Appreciation 11 November 2011 Paul Gauguin Like so many artists one studies, the life of Paul Gauguin was filled with internal struggles on daily matters and beliefs. Gauguin was not dealt an easy life from the very beginning. Born to French journalist and half Peruvian mother, Gauguin came to know the cruelty of life at a very young age. In 1851, he and his family moved to Peru due to the climate of the period. On the voyage to Peru, his father died; leaving him with his mother and sister to survive on their own.The family lived in Peru for four years and during that time, Gauguin came under the influence of certain imagery that would affect the rest of his life. His family then moved back to France where Gauguin excelled in academic studies. He went on to serve two years in the navy and then became a stockbroker. He married a woman by the name of Mette Sophie Gad, and proceeded to have five children. (â€Å"Paul Gauguin†). Ga uguin always enjoyed art in its many forms and soon purchased his own studio to show off Impressionist paintings.He moved his family to Copenhagen to continue being a stockbroker, but felt as if he was to pursue the life of an artist full time. He moved back to France to follow his passion for art, leaving his family behind. Just like many artists, he suffered from depression and had several suicide attempts. Gauguin soon became very frustrated with the art of the 1800’s and sailed to the tropics to escape life. He then used what he saw there as inspiration for many of the works that he produced. In 1903, he got in trouble with the government and was sentenced to jail for a short time.At the young age of 54, Gauguin died of syphilis, probably contracted from the natives in Tahiti. Gauguin left a rather large impact on the world of art. He rubbed shoulders with some of the most world renown French artists. His biography states, â€Å"[Gauguin was] the first artist to systemat ically use these [Primitivism] effects and achieve broad public success† (â€Å"Paul Gauguin†). He created some very successful paintings such as â€Å"Fragrant Earth,† â€Å"Barbaric Tales,† â€Å"The Loss of Virginity,† â€Å"Yellow Christ,† and â€Å"Tahitian Women with Flowers. All of these paintings have specific Gauguin signatures on them in style, color, subject, and reality. Gauguin lived in the time of Impressionist art. This art movement was mainly lead by Paris based artists. At first, Gauguin embraced the essence and characteristics of Impressionism. The early works of Gauguin, as John Gould Fletcher tells us in his book, have disappeared. However, there have been descriptions of his early works by Felix Feneon (Fletcher 44). These descriptions prove and show that Gauguin was already miles ahead of Impressionism and would become a very promising and influential leader in the next movement of art.While the art of his time was char acterized, by small, visible brush strokes that allowed colors to harmonize and blend together to create different and changing qualities of light of ordinary subject matters, Gauguin put his own interpretation of Impressionism. His tones were very separated from each other, creating a new way at painting landscapes. Fletcher states, â€Å"Gauguin was treating landscape at this period already as a synthesis, a decorative whole. . . not as an exercise in the analysis of atmosphere vibration† (Fletcher 45).People did not appreciate the new beginnings of this Post- Impressionism movement of art lead by Gauguin. This did not stop Gauguin at all. He continued on in finding new theories and creating his own tradition that went against the old decorative tradition. Wright and Dine share, â€Å"Gauguin was not content with the landscapes of civilization. He wanted something more elemental – scenes where an unspoilt and untamed nature gave birth to a race of simple and colourf ul character. He felt the need of harmonizing his people with their milieu† (Wright and Dine 300).Thus, Gauguin sought an entire new movement of art and found his inspiration in Tahiti. By using vivid colors that popped out and a thick of application of paint, Gauguin began to open the world to Post-Impressionism where real life was recorded through geometric forms. Ultimately, this lead to the Synthetist movement of art. Along with a few colleagues, this movement was created to synthesize the appearance of natural forms, the feelings of the artist on the subject matter, and the purity of line, color, and form (Wright and Dine 190). Gauguin also paved the way to Primitivism in his later years.Through the exaggerated body proportions and stark contrasts of color, Gauguin helped the return to the pastoral (â€Å"Paul Gauguin†). All of Gauguin’s paintings share similar characteristics. After Gauguin’s experience in Tahiti, he made the natives his main subject matter. Full of bright and bold colors, these women are placed in their natural surroundings with their womanly nature being exposed and exalted. Through his paintings, the truths about these women are revealed and their beauty proclaimed through the bold colors and contrasts and dark, defining lines. The beauty and popularity of Gauguin’s paintings are not just skin-deep.To truly understand the meanings and symbolism of the paintings, one must understand the man who held the brush. In his biography â€Å"Noa, Noa,† one comes face to face with a man who held such high dreams yet never achieved them. Every painting of Gauguin’s was almost a poem laced with symbolism of life, faith, and death. In Gauguin’s Paradise Lost, Wayne Anderson quotes Gauguin in saying, â€Å"In a way, I work like the Bible, in which the doctrine announces itself in a symbolic form, presenting a double aspect, a form which first materializes the pure idea in order to make it bette r understandable . . this is the literal superficial, figurative, mysterious meaning of a parable; and then the second aspect which gives the spirit of the former sense. This is the sense that is not figurative any more, but the formal, explicit of one of the parable† (Anderson 8). Gauguin always tried to veil his symbolism within his paintings. To the untrained eye and mind, his symbolism falls on blind eyes. However, those who are trained in his ways of symbolism appreciate the tension between the romantic sensibility and the dark drama of romantic primitivism.The emotions conveyed through his works all vary depending upon the nature and subject of the particular piece. He does have a central theme in all of his paintings and even some of his carved work. He wishes to conjure ideas of divinity and question the aspects of humanity in order to leave one with a sense of mystery and wonder (Anderson 19). The colors Gauguin uses pulls one into a life of bright and bold contrasts and tones. Someone how Gauguin uses definitive black lines that leave room for imagination in finishing the story that is told on the canvas.Gauguin was an island when it came to mentors. He did not feel the need to imitate any kind of art. If his art was imitative of any artist, it was because he had not been able to freely convey his emotions and arrive as his refined instincts (Anderson 29). Many of his artistic peers did reach out to Gauguin and try to influence his art. When he was younger, he met Camille Pissarro. These two worked together as part of an Impressionist group. For the longest time, Gauguin accepted and practice the styles of Manet, Renoirs, Monets, Cezannes, and Pissarro.Until he moved and stayed to Pont-Aven and met Emile Bernard and became a part of the Pont-Aven school. With the influence of artists, Charles Laval, Maxime Maufra, Paul Serusier, Charles Filiger, Jacob Meyer de Haan, Armand, Seguin, and Henri de Charmalliard, the birth and movement of Synthetism where bold colors were used for super spiritual subjects came about. (Fletcher 50). However, Gauguin always had a horrible temper and resulted in turning his friends into borderline enemies especially those who still clung to the Impressionist art forms and traditions.For two weeks, Van Gogh and Gauguin painted together. Their relationship was a rather weird one. Fletcher comments on this in saying, â€Å"For Van Gogh the future only held the liberating spiritual worship of the sun, which was to raise his art to its highest pitch of lyric ecstasy and to destroy the brain that had created it. For Gauguin the future held a long and stoic struggle . . . that left . . . his work only a broken fragment of what he had dreamed† (Fletcher 55). Consequentially, their art reflected these two different paradigms.Yet it was due to Van Gogh that Gauguin began to realize that great art came from a great love of life – and with that, Gauguin turned to religion, which fueled the majo rity of his art. Van Gogh’s art always hinted of a hope or centered upon a light. Where Gauguin used his subjects as the portrayal of light or the absence of light in the comparison to the dark and dense backgrounds. Over all, Gauguin’s works paved the way for new modern art to emerge. Some would say that Picasso was one of the most important people in the realms of abstract art.However, Gaugin married together the worlds of abstract and representational art with his works on the Tahitian women and the natives. As Gauguin’s biography reports, Gaguin left a huge and notable connection to Arthur Frank Matthews in his intense use of color palette. His works influenced many other artists but does not leave a protege to assume his role of leader in Primitivism and Synthetism (â€Å"Paul Gauguin†). Paul Gauguin was a genius with both the brush and the chisel. He believed in art as a way of life and not a mere enjoyment. He rallied for a day when symbolism would reign and art would become a synthesis.His works of the Tahitian natives and women opened up the world of naturalism and called back for a time where the pastoral would once again be enjoyed. Works Cited Andersen, Wayne. Gauguin’s Paradise Lost. The Viking Press Inc. New York, New York. 1971. Print. Fletcher, John Gould. Paul Gauguin, His Life and Art. Nicolas L. Brown. New York. 1921. eBook. â€Å"Paul Gauguin Biography. † Paul Gauguin – Complete Works. 2002-2011. 31 October 2011. Web. http://www. paul-gauguin. net/biography. html Wright, Williard Huntington and S. S. van Dine. Modern Painting, It’s Tendency and Meaning. John Lane Company. New York. 1915. eBook.

Land Subsidence in Bangkok, Thailand

Land Subsidence in Bangkok, Thailand Specific Purpose: To carry my audience to hold that we must halt the remission in Bangkok by cut downing over-exploitation of groundwater, increasing the usage of surface H2O, and sing resettlement of the capital metropolis Thesis: In order to maintain our capital metropolis safe, we must understand the jobs and causes of the land remission, and take action to halt the remission. Organizational Form: Problem-cause-solutionIntroductionAttention GetterIf you have been experiencing a spot lower late, it is non merely your imaginativeness. In fact, Bangkok has been droping. Around 20 per centum of Bangkok had already sunk by about a metre over the past 30 old ages, said Srisuk ( 2006 ) , manager of the Groundwater Research Centre.Reason to listenThis is what is go oning in Bang Khun Thian territory of Bangkok. Panya Changcharoen ( 2008 ) from this territory said, â€Å"I’m non certain how long my household and I can populate here. We urgently need aid before we lose the whole territory to the sea.† The people in this territory lost their places, lands, and occupations as some countries submerged. If we do non halt the land remission in Bangkok, non merely Bang Khun Thian, but the whole metropolis will fall below sea degree.Credibility StatementA professor from Chulalongkorn University said that Bangkok is droping at twice the rate it was a decennary ago ( Trisirisattayawong, 2009 ) .A Dutch expert who has studied the state of affairs said, â€Å"In few decennaries, Bangkok may non be habitable† ( Haberman, 1983 ) .â€Å"More than 5 0 per centum of the sinking has been caused by the tapping of groundwater by industry, † said Dr. Sanitwong ( 2013 ) , manager of the Gio-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency.Preview of Main PointsFirst, I will exemplify the dangers of the land remission in Bangkok.Second, I will discourse why this catastrophe is go oning to us.Finally, I will propose how we can get the better of this job.BodyThe jobBangkok, the capital metropolis of our state, is quickly droping.Even worse, the gait of land remission has been quickened ( Trisirisattayawong, 2009 ) .If this tendency continues, most of our capital metropolis will be in danger of falling below sea degree by century ‘s terminal ( Haberman, 1983 ) .Urban countries like Bangkok are vulnerable to set down remission, which is frequently destructive.Land remission can damage our substructures ( Tularam & A ; Krishna, 2009 ) . It can destruct our Rama bridges, our BTS, our MRT, our main roads, our railwaies, and ou r electric power lines.Land remission besides amendss underground pipes, increasing H2O depletion. This can make a vacuity in the aquifer, which could do a prostration of land ( Hasan, 2006 ) .Land remission can do monolithic inundations like 2011 because it increases inundation hazard ( Tularam & A ; Krishna, 2009 ) .Passage:In order to halt the land remission of our capital metropolis, we must foremost cognize what caused this catastrophe.CausesOur capital metropolis is droping chiefly because of inordinate groundwater pumping.The land remission rate is around 3 centimeter a twelvemonth in some topographic points in Bangkok due to over-extraction of groundwater ( Shaw, Srinivas, & A ; Sharma, 2009 )As we pump groundwater, the H2O that bears the dirt above is bit by bit removed, impacting the geologic construction. Hence, the land begins to lessen ( Tularam & A ; Krishna, 2009 ) .There is no appropriate pricing policy in pull outing groundwater beyond sustainable output degrees, an d hence there is over-exploitation of groundwater ( Suwal, n.d. ) . In Thailand, none of national bureaus is responsible for coordination groundwater resources ( Foster, 2008 ) .Overloading on the Soft Bangkok ClayBecause the soft Bangkok Clay is about 70 per centum saturated, it is really soft, weak, and compressible ( Bhattacharya, 2013 ) .The land remission in Bangkok has occurred because constructions were built without sing the bearing capacity of the soft Bangkok Clay.The weight of the land surface rises due to building of heavy edifices, ensuing in the compression of the clay bed ( Bhattacharya, 2013 ) .Passage:We now know that over-exploitation of groundwater and overloading on the soft clay have caused the land remission in our capital. Then now, we must larn to work out the jobs.SolutionWe need to cut down the rate of groundwater pumping.Groundwater in Thailand costs merely approximately 10 ticals per one three-dimensional metre ( Department of Groundwater Resources, n.d. ) .Higher monetary values for groundwater are necessary ( Bangkok State of the Environment, 2001 ) .We besides need to utilize groundwater and surface H2O conjunctively, or utilize more surface H2O if possible.Surface H2O intervention workss have a larger capacity. They are a batch more efficient in providing H2O to urban countries ( Mahmud, 2009 ) .Surface H2O intervention workss are located around the beginnings of surface H2O such as nearby rivers ( Mahmud, 2009 ) .If none of the solutions plants, we should in conclusion see relocating the capital metropolis as the last option.Some Thai environmental experts believe that traveling the whole capital metropolis to a higher land, for case one of the 16 northeasterly states, is the lone solution ( Kurlantzick, 2011 ) .Resettlement of the capital metropolis is dearly-won and time-consuming, but the safety of the new capital will convey benefit in the long-run ( â€Å"Capitals should, † 2012 ) .Decision: Think of your place. You grew up at that place, you have spent most of your clip at that place, you feel the safest at that place. However, will your sweet place be still there when you are at your 50? If the land remission in Bangkok can non be stopped, no 1 can guarantee that your house will be safe when you are old. Even though land remission has been a serious menace to our capital metropolis, our authorities has ignored this grave danger. We merely have few decennaries to undertake this job. Now is clip. We must maintain our eyes unfastened. We must press the authorities. We must salvage our places. Mentions Bangkok State of the Environment. ( 2001 ) . 5 Land remission.Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.rrcap.ait.asia/pub/soe/bangkok_land.pdf Bhattacharya, K. A. ( 2013 ) . An analysis of land remission in Bangkok and Kolkata due to over-extraction of groundwater.EJGE.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ejge.com/2013/Ppr2013.163alr.pdf Capitals should be moved to Northeast, top scientist says. ( 2012, Feb 5 ) .The State.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Capital-should-be-moved-to-Northeast-top-scientist-30175186.html Department of Groundwater Resources. ( n.d. ) . retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dgr.go.th/en/organize.htm Faculty of Geosciences at Utrecht University. ( 2010 ) . Rising sea degrees attributed to planetary groundwater extraction.Utrecht University.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.uu.nl/EN/Current/Pages/Wereldwijdonttrekkenvangrondwaterleidttotzeespiegelstijging.aspx Foster, S. ( 2008 ) . Siam: Strengthening capacity in groundwater resources direction.The World Bank.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.un-igrac.org/dynamics/modules/SFIL0100/view.php? fil_Id=178 Haberman, C. ( 1983 ) . Crowded Bangkok is droping under weight of its ain growing.The New York Times.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nytimes.com/1983/05/01/world/crowded-bangkok-is-sinking-under-weight-of-its-own-growth.html Hasan, F. K. ( 2006 ) . Water direction in Dhaka.International Journal of Water Resource Development, vol. 22 Kurlantzick, J. ( 2011 ) . Time to travel Bangkok? .Council on Foreign Relations.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //blogs.cfr.org/asia/2011/11/09/time-to-move-bangkok/ Mahmud, A. ( 2009 ) . Impact of urbanisation on land H2O.Research Project of Social Science 2008-9.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.academia.edu/8072864/ Impact-of-Urbanization-on-Ground-Water Sanitwong, A. ( 2013 ) . Thailand needs to move as Bangkok sinks faster.Deutsche Welle.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dw.de/thailand-needs-to-act-as-bangkok-sinks-faster/a-16739739 Shaw, R. , Srinivas, H. , & A ; Sharma, A. ( 2009 ) .Urban hazard decrease: An Asiatic position.Wagon Lane, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited Srisuk, K. ( 2006 ) . Excessive groundwater usage â€Å"sinking Bangkok† .Department of Environmental Quality Promotion.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.deqp.go.th/index.php? option=com_content & A ; view=article & A ; id=14538:2006-02-17 & amp ; catid=7:2010-02-04-06-14-10 & A ; Itemid=43 & A ; lang=th Suwal, S. ( n.d. ) . Water in crisis – Thailand.The Water Project.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //thewaterproject.org/water-in-crisis-thailand Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage. ( 2002 ) . General Information about Thailand.International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.Retrieved from http www.icid.org/v_thailand.pdf Trisirisattayawong, I. ( 2009 ) . PS-inSAR measuring of land remission in Bangkok metropolitan country.Chulalongkorn University.Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sv.eng.chula.ac.th/attachments/article/84/ACRS2009_InSAR_GEO2TECDI.pdf Tularam, G. A. , Krishna, M. ( 2009 ) . Long term effects of groundwater pumping in Australia: A reappraisal of impacts around the Earth.Journal of Applied Sciences in Environmental Sanitation,4( 2 ) , 151-166. Warr, P. ( 2005 ) . Thailand beyond the crisis. Routledge Curzon, New York: New york Water Environmental Partnership in Asia. State of H2O environmental issues: Thailand. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.wepa-db.net/policies/state/thailand/thailand.htm

Khmer Rouge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Khmer Rouge - Essay Example From BBC, it is clear that it was a communist party belonging to Kapuchea. Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, had a reputation for brutality because they used to kill the villagers and the village chiefs. Khmer Rouge group ensured people were dispersed to the forest by burning both villages and major towns where there were huge populations. Moreover, by the time the chaos reached the peak, many Americans had held demonstrations protesting the involvement of United States in Cambodia. Things had gone so badly in Vietnam and their only interest in Southeast Asia was in getting out. Many people ran away from the cities and small towns to avoid Khmer Rouge. According to White (2010, pg. 16) Cambodia was turned into a camp that starved and terrorized people. On April 17 1975, Cambodia fell when Phnom Penh came face to face with the Khmer Rouge. Khmer Rouge was different, and they were dead behind the eyes. When Khmer Rouge took power, they started to re-invent Cambodia by emptying the cities forcing all the residents into the countryside and towards a dark future. Cadre spread the word that the Americans were going to bomb, and everyone had to leave including patients in the hospital. It was a lie and the leaders of Khmer Rouge cleared the capital and other cities so that they could start over. Around noon, everyone started leaving Cambodia, hundreds of thousands of people who were trenching along a few kilometers an hour, and it was truly a staggering sight, incredible. All citizens that lived in Cambodia and were from foreign countries were ferried to the borders by trucks. Khmer Rouge went ahead and created a new country after ensuri ng all foreigners were taken out of the country, and Cambodia was officially sealed. New country was created by killing civilians earnestly. The book by Marshall Cavendish Corporation, (2007, pg. 765) states that Khmer Rouge viewed the Vietnamese as a sacrifice for Cambodia revolution for its own interests. Combined with a burning

Why ships sink Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why ships sink - Essay Example One of the main reason due to which the most beautiful and expensive ships have sank is that the ship experienced a crash with another hard object. Due to this collision the ships ended up being wrecked completely. Ships have experienced a crash with another oncoming ship or a boat and ships have even crashed with icebergs and have been completely destroyed. For example: one of the major incidents of ship sinking caused due to a collision or a crash was experienced by Titanic during the period of 1912 and there are several reasons that may have caused this incident. One of the reasons that are believed to be reason of this crash was that Titanic crashed into an iceberg (McCollum 9). A second reason due to which several ships have sunk over the history is that these ships failed to withstand rough sea weathers. Those who are responsible for piloting a ship are at time faced with moving the ship within heavy storms. Sometimes these storms become so strong that they do not only cause da mage to the ship, they even tear the entire ship into different pieces. For example the ship wreck of the ship called MV Derbyshire that took place during the period of 1980 was caused because it was badly beaten up by a typhoon and the end result was that the ship sank (McCollum 13). Ships even sink due to technical issues such as problems with significant machines that are responsible for the smooth movement of the ships. For example, in the case of Estonia that sunk during the period of 1994, it was reported that the ship sank because water entered inside the ship as one of the doors of the ship was not properly sealed and the doors of the ships is one of the most important equipment which is essential for the safety of the ship (Kinzer 1). The outcomes of ship sinking are extremely disastrous as some of the outcomes include loss of the life of huge number of people. There are various individuals who travel in one particular ship at

Reflection on team work asignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflection on team work asignment - Essay Example Earlier this semester we prepared a report discussing management and leadership styles of different organizations. It was identified that companies such as Proctor and Gamble has acquired significant position in the market on the basis of their profound leadership whereas on the other hand Royal bank of Scotland has undergone serious challenges due to their poor management. The report further discussed management and leadership approaches considering four other organizations. Preparation and presentation of the report was solely based on team work and group effectiveness. Here, we not only learned different theories related to leadership and management rather we also comprehended unique human behaviors in work place setting. My group comprised of four individuals; Alex, Ashley, Helena and Stella. All the activities and different presentation tasks were divided among team members. The team effectiveness and successful presentation was largely dependent upon clear communication and und erstanding among individuals. In order to discuss theories and models about team work it is important to first understand the fundamental concept of teams. Every individual working in a team is actually interdependent with respect to different tasks. Team members have to share the responsibility of positive or negative outcomes (Halverson, 2008). Moreover, the entire team must show itself as an integral social entity. Members should be able to manage all their conflicts and issues across the boundaries of an organization or an educational institution. Groups and teams have the basic difference of connection, for instance, teams are more connected whereas group members usually have loose connections (Halverson, 2008). Humans have highly dynamic personalities. They tend to act differently in particular workplace situations. Researchers argue that work place human behavior is specifically determined by analyzing multiple factors. Although work motivation,

Bloodsworth v. State 76 Md.App.23,543 A.2d 382 Research Paper

Bloodsworth v. State 76 Md.App.23,543 A.2d 382 - Research Paper Example Though Bloodsworth did have an idea of the actual person who committed the crime, he thought about ways to prove his innocence. It was until 1992 that Bloodsworth introduced the idea of DNA testing, which together with lawyer Bob Morin he pushed for consideration as part of the evidence. Findings by Edward Blake of the Forensic Science Associates (FSA) in April of 1993 excluded Bloodsworth. Similar tests conducted by FBI to determine correctness of the tests of FSA showed a mismatch between the DNA in the examined underwear of the victim and that of Bloodsworth (McNamara, 2009). The state then moved quickly to dismiss the charges, and the court approved $300,000 compensation to Bloodsworth for lost earning during the detention. The case is important considering that it was the first to apply DNA test to exonerate a suspect. In this case, the court did great in the admissibility of the forensic science evidence to determine the truth. Dawn Hamilton, a 9 years old girl visiting her father during summer in 1984 missed when searching for her cousin Lisa near their residence in Rosedale, Maryland. Someone approached Dawn and offered to help in the search into nearby forest wood where the investigators found a mutilated body of Dawn. Two boys who were fishing in a nearby lake saw the man move with Dawn into the wood. After discovery of the body, the two boys assisted the police into recreating a composite of the appearance of the suspect. Upon publication of the composite, someone claimed that image resembled Kirk Bloodsworth. The police move to present the picture of Bloodsworth to the boys for identification. One boy could not link the picture with the suspect they saw. Another claimed that the picture resembled the suspect but there was a problem with the hair. Nonetheless, police obtained arrest warrant and arrested

KNOW HOW HUMAN RESOURCES ARE MANAGED Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

KNOW HOW HUMAN RESOURCES ARE MANAGED - Assignment Example This description generally offers comprehensive information about the duties, purpose, scope, responsibilities and the working conditions of that particular job during the term or time period. The job description also offers information about the designation of the person whom the potential candidate is supposed to report for the duration of the job. In addition to that, he is offered all this information before the commencement of the interview regarding the job. When the employers are looking for filling up a specific post in their organization, they are looking for various qualities pertaining to that specific post. Take an example, if the employers are looking for filling the post of General Manager for a consumer products company. The first quality they look for is the management degree in that specific area. The second quality they look for is the experience in a similar company for 6-7 years. Also, they look for various personal skills such as team player, communication skills, flexibility, their initiative or record of management (Legace, 2007). Employment contract can be broadly defined as the contract between the employer and the employee that spells out the particulars and understanding between both parties regarding all matters and protect both parties in event of any issue (Withrow, 2015). There are many key features of the employment contract such as length of the contract, nature of compensation, specifics of the job, type of performance, position of both parties, benefits and other elements and most important, procedure regarding termination of contact and its terms. The skilled and experienced human resource plays a vital role in progress of any organization. So, these organizations do their best to attract the best candidates (Baird & Meshoulam, 1988). There are many methods with which any organization can attract the potential candidates. Some of them are salaries, bonuses, incentives and stock options, increasing facilities in the

Management Accounting as a Part of Strategic Process Essay

Management Accounting as a Part of Strategic Process - Essay Example As management accounting also deals with the analysis, interpretation, and communication of data in addition to identification and measurement of those, it can be said that it is a tool for the management for the decision-making process and is a much broader concept than to provide mere numerical data to the management. The tools and techniques used for the purpose of management accounting include marginal costing, standard costing, budgetary control, etc. A strategy is a process deployed by an organization to accomplish its mission and long term objectives. As management accounting facilitates the top management with preparation, analysis, interpretation, and communication of financial and non-financial information, the essence of management accounting is implicit with the strategic process in an organization. Management accounting provides the top management with the required (interpreted) information at the right time which in turn aids the management in the decision-making process.   Quality, Cost and Time are the three important aspects of any strategy. Management accounting information assists the top management to achieve quality goals. It also helps the management to achieve the objective of cost management as management accounting also involves costing methods. In addition to quality and cost, management accounting also provides timely information to the decision-makers (Bell J., Ansari S., Klammer T., Lawrence C., n.d.). Therefore, it can be inferred that management accounting is a part and parcel of the strategic process of an organization. As it is often said that change is the only constant term in this world, the concept of management accounting and the roles of management accountant are also subject to it. With the change in the way of business being conducted especially because of massive technological innovations, today management accountant has a much bigger role to play in an organization. From the obligation of the accounting duties, his responsibilities are more of managerial in nature. Apart from the technical expertise, management accountant of today must also possess the technological knowledge. The management accountant has to play the integrating role in the business. In the competitive scenario of today, he cannot expect his role to be over by just preparing the report, rather he has to try and interpret the key areas to the management and be a partner to the decision making process. The management accountant has to keep his eyes wide open and analyze the future with the tools of the subject and add value to the organization.

Major project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Major project - Research Paper Example The purpose of this evaluation is to determine the changes that should be made in order to reduce the expense cost and keep workers safe. The four level models of Kirkpatrick will be used to design and implement the evaluation. The different methods of data collection and analysis used in the proposed evaluation plan are also explained in the paper. Evaluation of a Successful Fire Extinguishing Training Program Background Panorama Firefighters Company is a nonprofit organization that seeks to assist the fire victims with various aid programs. The main objective of the company is to carry out various functions aimed at controlling the spread of fire and providing necessary services to the victims. The company provides various fire suppression systems that help to control the spread of fire once it occurs. The main function of the company is to respond quickly to the buildings and structures that are on fire in order to extinguish the fire before it causes severe damages. The company h as offices in twenty-five American states in order to provide services to the fire victims in these states. The occurrence of fire could not be possible to predict, and this makes it necessary to have various fire protection services cannot be accessed easily. Due to the rapid increases in the number of cases that involve fire outbreaks, the company has established many centers in various cities in order to enable them to respond quickly to the situation. The rising demand has enabled the five-year old company to grow tremendously. The company currently has 900 employees with the upper level of management, consisting of fifty people. The other employees include one-hundred and fifty supervisors, and seven hundred people who work on a daily basis. Each state has two managers who oversee the management progress of the company in order to recommend the necessary measures. The company is looking forward to improve the services it provides in order to help reduce the economic losses attr ibuted by fire outbreak. Rationale The Panorama Firefighters Company realized the need of evaluating safety training after a huge fire outbreak that led to the death of five employees who work on a daily basis. The death of the employees

Parental Involvement, Poverty, and Student Achievement Essay Example for Free

Parental Involvement, Poverty, and Student Achievement Essay Current education reform is intended to influence higher student achievement. According to Hanushek (1997), the development of school reform is largely motivated by economic issues. Education reform becomes a meaningful topic on the national agenda when the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued a report, A Nation At Risk (1983). This report focused on the claim that a steady increase in mediocrity had overcome schools which impacted upon the economic competitiveness of the country. One example of this competitiveness was when the Soviet Union 1957 launched Sputnik. It was concluded that declines in educational performance were in large part the result of inadequacies in the way the educational process was conducted. The findings that follow, selected from a much more extensive list, reflect four important aspects of the educational process: content, expectations, time, and teaching. The United States government responded by beginning reform of how its educational system. As part of this process, all segments, including parent committees, were formed to give attention to the implementation of the recommendations of the report. The report further stated that reform should not only come from students, teachers, school boards, colleges and universities, local, state, and federal officials, teachers’ and administrators’ organizations, but also from parents themselves with interested in and responsibility for educational significance begin with the parent. Moreover, you bear a responsibility to participate actively in your child’s education. You should encourage more diligent study and discourage satisfaction with mediocrity and the attitude that says let it slide, monitor your child’s study; encourage good study habits; encourage your child to take more demanding rather than less demanding courses; nurture your child’s curiosity, creativity, and confidence; and be an active participant in the work of the schools. Above all, exhibit a commitment to continued learning in your own life. Finally, help your children understand that excellence in education cannot be achieved without intellectual and moral integrity coupled with hard work and commitment (p. 26) Henderson and Berla (1994) did extensive research linking parental involvement to student achievement. There are a variety of parenting practices that have been associated with positive student outcomes. Despite this research, Desimone (2001) contends that there is still no clear understanding of how patterns and effects of parental involvement differ across ethnic and income groups. Previous studies have shown that parent involvement patterns vary according to parental social, racial-ethnic, and economic characteristics (Catsambis Garland, 1997), but the findings have been mixed. Several studies have reported that low income minority parents often have different beliefs about parents’ role in school involvement are less involved in school activities than higher income, non-minority parents (Delgado-Gaitan, 1991; Chavkin Williams, 1993). Other studies, however, have demonstrated that the level of parent involvement by race-ethnicity (i. e. , Asian, African-American, Hispanic, and white) differs for only a few types of involvement and that minority parents have higher levels of involvement in certain areas than do white parents (Catsambis Garland, 1997). Previous studies have reported that low-income minority parents often have different beliefs regarding parental roles in school involvement and are less involved (Chavkin Williams, 1993). Comer and Haynes (1991) have hypothesized that low income and inner city minority students may be more positively affected by certain types of parent involvement than other students. According to them, in order for parental involvement programs to be successful, they need to be focused upon a school improvement process that is designed to create positive relationships that support the total development of children and not the traditional bureaucratic or authoritative school environment which is a less collaborative structure. Other theorists (Devaney, Ellwood, and Love, 1997; Lewit, Terman, Behrman, 1997) suggests that parental involvement may not be as effective in improving student achievement for low income children as for children from middle class homes. Because the large number of risk factors that impact upon children living in poverty, including health, safety, and housing, the role of parental involvement in schools in explaining academic outcomes for those children may be significantly less than for their peers who do not experience as many negative environment influences. Desimone (2001) suggests that race-ethnicity and other background characteristics can be strong mediators in the effects of various types of parental actions and the impact they have on student achievement. While work in this area is limited, there is little information that compares the effects of multiple forms of parental involvement across several racial/ethnic and income groups. McNeal’s (2001) study investigated the relationships between parent involvement and socioeconomic status. Findings indicated that parental involvement was an important factor in explaining behavioral outcomes (such as truancy and dropping out) but not cognitive outcomes (such as science achievement), with the greatest support for parent child discussion and involvement in parent-teacher organizations. He contends that there have been inconsistencies with the findings linking parental involvement to academic achievement. The contradictions likely were related to one of the following weaknesses in research. The first condition was the use of perception measures by teachers rather than direct reports by students and/or parents. Another was a failure to fully conceptualize parent involvement into its constituent parts. The last was not fully assessing the extent to which parental involvement differently affects academic achievement by social class. The three shortcomings can be improved upon but parent involvement has little effect on student achievement because it is a cognitive outcome and parental involvement affects behavioral outcomes. Reginald Clark’s research shares findings from a body of research on closing achievement gaps in urban school communities (Ferguson, Clark, Stewart, 2002). In Clark documents the importance of five influential factors for improved students achievement, especially among disadvantages urban students. The first factor is described as the teacher’s expectations and actions in the classroom. The second is amount of students’ weekly participation in high-yield in and out of school activities. High-yield out of school activities include: leisure reading, writing, studying, and participation in community and school clubs or programs, and playing organized sports. High-yield in school activities include participating in classroom lessons as well as structured leisure activities. The third factor is the quality of students’ participation in and out of school activities. The fourth factor is parental beliefs and expectations. The fifth factor is parent-teacher communication. Ferguson, Clark and Stewart, 2002 found that the type and amounts of constructive in school and out of school learning activities contribute to a success-oriented lifestyle. More specifically, Clark found that high achieving activities. Some examples of actions in the classroom include reading, working alone on a lesson, listening to a lecture, solving a problem with classmates, or asking questions. Ferguson, Clark and Stewart, 2002 found that high achievers spent more time during out of school high-yield learning activities than low achievers. Some activities include: weekly time dialoguing with adults, hobby or volunteer activities, or organized sports. Regular study and homework routines, with adult monitoring or support, and reading and writing activities also were seen as practices in the home. Some less structured or unstructured activities include hanging out, playing video games, talking on the telephone, and watching television. Ferguson, Clark and Stewart 2002 found that the beliefs and attitudes of parents had a significant role in student success in becoming competent readers. The analysis of data from parents of 459 students about their expectations for their child’s learning and their perception of whether they had been supported by their child’s teacher showed that students benefit when parents set high standards for their child’s performance in school and feel personally supported by partnerships they have formed with their child’s teacher. Lastly, Clark indicates that parent beliefs are likely to be influenced by parent-teacher communication. In other words, parents may benefits from well-organized teacher-led communications. When teachers take specific actions to cultivate instructional partnerships with parents, those parents are more likely to support their children’s learning at home. Clark’s data showed that students’ scores were higher on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment in reading when teachers reported more communication with parents. REFERENCES Bankston, C. L. , Caldas, S. J. (1998). Family structure, schoolmates, and racial inequalities in school achievement. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 715-723. Braswell. J. S. , Lutkus,A. D. , Grigg,W. S. , Santapau, S. L. , Tay-Lim, B. , Johnson, M. (2001). Subgroup results for the nation and the states. In The nations report card: Mathematics 2000 (pp. 53-181). Washington DC: U. S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics.

Andrew Jackson Campaign Speech of 1828 Essay Example for Free

Andrew Jackson Campaign Speech of 1828 Essay My fellow Americans, the upcoming national elections present a very important choice. We can forge a â€Å"true† representative democracy for the first time in history, and be led by our directly elected leaders. Or we can continue to live in an aristocratic republic run by over-educated elitists who are not beholden to the will of the people, but only to themselves. As you all know, three years ago I won the popular vote for President, but was denied the office because of a â€Å"corrupt bargain† between the dishonorable Henry Clay and President Adams. The people’s choice was disregarded by the elite in power. As a result, I immediately resigned from the Senate and returned to Tennessee, where the legislature immediately nominated me for President again. I have spent the last three years preparing to right this terrible wrong and take back the people’s power to choose their own leaders. My opponent Mr. Adams dismisses me as a â€Å"military chieftain. † I have fought two wars for this country, and I am proud of it. I think one of the most important qualifications a President should have is a military background. We were invaded by the British only 15 years ago. That enemy is still in the Canadas agitating Indians to attack us, and waiting for another chance to invade. We have foreign enemies at our every border. Don’t forget the Spanish forces just to the south in Florida, and Mexico to the west, and Indians constantly raiding settlements all along the frontiers. These foreign threats are many and dire, and we need a President who has the experience to defend our nation against them. There are threats to our nation from within as well. The Second National Bank is a threat to our economic well-being. President Adams and Vice-president Clay both support the bank claiming that it provides stability. I say it does great harm to the average American. It is a financial monopoly controlled by a few wealthy easterners. It controls the credit for the entire country, prints paper money of dubious worth, and it is just plain unconstitutional. Out west thousands of ordinary shop keepers, millers, farmers and other business owners cannot get the currency and the loans they need to run their concerns. How do you develop and grow the economy of a new state without currency, or worse yet, with paper currency of dubious worth? I say let us do away with all paper money, I do not trust it. Gold and Silver coin have intrinsic and eternal value, paper does not. We should also rely on our local and state banks, run by the people who live in and understand our communities, to control the currency needed for commerce, not some faceless, monopolistic national bank. Another threat from within are the abolitionists. They care about one issue only, and would tear the nation apart to get their way. Slavery is necessary to the economy of the south. If we outlaw it, we will make criminals of thousands of slave owners overnight, and collapse all of the southern states’ economies. How will southern families feed and clothe themselves without their labor force? I say let the people and their states decide this issue for themselves. Many northern states have already outlawed slavery, and one day the southern states may follow. You cannot force a cultural change like this on people; you must let them come to it in their own way and time. That is the nature of democracy. President Adams is afraid of internal threats as well. His biggest fear is YOU! The people of this nation, the ordinary citizens of the United States are the gravest threat he faces. Our President doesn’t trust us. To him, we are the unwashed, ignorant masses who, given the chance, would run the country into the ground. The president has stated many times that he believes his precious republic will soon â€Å"degenerate into democracy; that government of the people will become government by the people. † I say it’s about time. I say â€Å"we the people† built this nation. We have marched across the continent, scratching out a living, and burying our children along the way to do it. I say â€Å"we the people† understand better than anyone what it takes to make this nation grow and prosper. I trust the common people of this nation, because I am one of the common people. I am not yet another wealthy land owner from Virginia, nor am I an aristocratic lawyer from Massachusetts. I am a just an old Indian fighter from Tennessee. I believe â€Å"we the people† who have sacrificed the most for this great nation have earned the right to govern it. But I need your help to make this happen. Already, the new states are entering the union with few restrictions on the vote. This has caused many the old states to change their ways as well. Eighteen of our states now choose their electors by popular vote, while only six still allow the legislature to choose their representatives for them. I urge you all to go to the polls on Election Day. With this election we can finally take back power from the old aristocracy. We can establish the legitimacy of majority rule based upon direct voting for candidates by the electorate, and guarantee preservation of the Union, with states rights as the fundamental basis of American liberty. This is the dawn of a new day for democracy and modern American politics. Please vote on Election Day. Thank you.

Analysis of News Reports

Analysis of News Reports INTISAR SAIF SALIM AL HASHMI Hard News – Court Drops Murder Charges against Mubarak STAGE ONE Introduction Hard news is a term often used by media practitioner or journalists to refer to the fast-paced information that is worth appearing on the newspaper front, usually a headline. This does not mean it is a controversial one, with topics of interest like business, political uprising, new transport system introduction that will reduce traffic congestion and other international news. It is argued that what defines hard news is not about the controversy in the subject matter but rather what some will call fast paced or heavy reports on it that makes it hard news. The term hard news is not of scientific and can be traced back to have been first used by the US journalists to classify various types of news. Since then, the two terms have found their way into the academic circles being used in journalism. Schramm (1949) was one of the first people to document the types of news as hard news or soft news. In this work, the hard news chosen is the acquittal of former president, Hosni Mubarak of murder charges which hit the headlines this week. It was reported in almost all mainstream media in the world and for the purpose of this study, we have picked only the three Omani newspapers; The times of Oman, the Oman Tribune and the Muscat Daily. This news is going to be analyzed in terms of the already set principles that make it newsworthy to be printed in the headlines. These set principles include; timeliness, proximity, impact or consequences, prominence, conflict, human interest. Timeliness This is the immediacy of the news item. Because news, become outdated quickly, it is better if a hard news hits the newsstands immediately and it happened in the case in which an Egyptian court acquitted the former president on 29th November 2014 and the following day, the newspapers reported it. This was a timely reporting and on the part of print media. Proximity This refers the closeness of an event to home. The concern of what was going to happen to the former leader, Hosni Mubarak was something of interest to the whole Arab world. Since the beginning of the famous Arab spring, people in the entire region have always focused to the events shaping the politics in the region. This kind of news is closer to Oman and therefore qualifies under the proximity principle. Impact or Consequences The impact of his acquittal is seen by many as a miscarriage of justice to the families of those who died in the demonstration that saw the former leader ousted. Others also see it as a relief to his supporters since someone who has led a country peacefully should not be humiliated when he leaves power and they argue he should retire honourably. The consequence of the news serves as a warning to those who think they should shame a president who has devoted his time to lead his people. Prominence This story carried on the three newspapers is about a prominent personality, Hosni Mubarak and Egypt, which is known place with rich historical background ranging from history of ancient education to the Pharaos and the Pyramids. The country is well known for the continuous and persistent demonstrations that hit its cities forcing their president to resign. This news is definitely of interest to many readers. Conflict The newspaper article also shows some kind of conflict between the supporters of the former president and the relatives of those who died. The supporters see the ouster and subsequent humiliation of Mubarak as not worth since there has been no change to the problems facing them and in any case, it has just gotten worse. The bereaved relative on the other hand view this as justice denied by dropping the case of murder against him. Human Interest The news is of human interest in the sense that people would like to know how the Egyptian democracy progresses after the ouster of Mubarak and Morsi. In fact, democracy has not been granted to the Egyptians since their democratic leader was dethroned by the military and since then, there have been demonstrations after demonstrations. Grading of News In Terms of Accuracy, Clarity and Style Accuracy The reporters have done this work accurately bearing the power such reports have on the people. This is because what they write can easily influence people’s decisions. They have done it so accurately that what appears in the three papers have no spelling errors. The news also doesn’t mislead the public or distort what the court announced. Clarity Since newspaper reporting is different from an academic writing, it should be brief and to the point. This is because no one has the time to devote to the news except to obtain information. Looking at these news reports, they have been written with the clarity that the journalism approves. The writers seem to have the readers in mind by using simple language, short paragraphs as well as short stories while avoiding no bombastic words. Style The designs on the newspapers are done in styles that beckon the reader to buy. They are arranged in layouts that are attractive to the eyes and this has the aesthetic value and ability to kill boredom. It also assures the reader of the value for money when the paper is still on the newsstand. Even though the primary objective is to report the news to the people, the three newspapers have been done artistically that is different from the old type of writing. The different fonts have also been used to appeal to the buyer. STAGE TWO HAND WRITTEN NOTES AND FLOW CHARTS ON MAJOR INFORMATION ON THE THREE NEWSPAPERS. STAGE THREE My own hard news Hosni Mubarak murder charges dropped by Court HIS TWO SONS AND 7 COMMANDERS ALSO ACQUITED AS JOY AND JUBILATIONS RETURN TO EGYPT. MAJAN TIMES REPORTER CAIRO An Egyptian court dealt a terrible blow to the relatives of those who were killed during the uprising by declaring that the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak has no case to answer. Mubarak was accused of killing the protesters in 2011 during the uprising which saw the former president tender his resignation to allow the military takeover to manage a transition. His supporters went into jubilation when the announcement, which also cleared his former interior minister, was made. The judge also noted that charges should not have been preferred against the former leader. The relatives of those killed were not happy and one by one they started to assemble in the famous Tahrir square to oppose the move. They said this is a blow to the rule of law and miscarriage of justice. The sons of the former dictator, Alaa and Gamal, were also cleared of corruption charges. When a private radio station contacted him on phone in his hospital room, he remarked, â€Å"I did nothing wrong at all. And when the first verdict was read, I laughed.† Former president Mubarak The former leader also praised his three decades of rule which was what looked like a police state. There was heavy handedness in his last decade which saw many people with divergent views arrested and imprisoned. In his ruling, the judge said it was not fair to try him for the charges according to the penal code and insisted that there should have been no charges in the first place. Mubarak’s lawyer supported the ruling and added, â€Å"it is approved the Mubarak’s regime’s integrity†. This looks like the Arab spring and the efforts to bring democracy has been dealt a terrible blow according to some analysts. STAGE FOUR COMPARISONS BETWEEN MY HARD NEWS AND THE NEWSPAPER’S. One idea per sentence In the ‘Times of Oman’, the rule of one idea per sentence is adhered to since in the first paragraph, when the reporter writes about the court acquitting the former leader of murder charges on the 800 people killed during the uprising. Also in the second paragraph, he brings two issues but separates the sentences using a comma. This trend continues until the end of the story. In the Muscat daily, the same trend of one idea per sentence is maintained, separating the Mubarak acquittal, his ongoing imprisonment and the acquittal of his generals and sons. In the Oman tribune, the reporter maintained the one idea per sentence as we observe him writing about the dropping of corruption charges against the sons and separating it from the acquittal of the military generals so that these two or three ideas do not go into one sentence. In my own constructed hard news. I have maintained this journalistic requirement by preserving the one idea per sentence rule. Manageable sentence length (20 – 25) words per sentence In these three newspapers together with my own story, the sentence length is about 20 – 25 words at most. Though there are some sentences that are shorter than this but all the same, they are still comprehensible. I have also made sure that my sentences are within the same range of manageable length to avoid giving the readers hard time in comprehending the news. Subject verb order The subject verb order is observed in the following instances: in the Oman Tribune, â€Å" I did nothing wrong at all†, (The Oman Tribune 30 November 2014, p. 16) his lawyer Farid Al deeb said that the verdict was a good ruling in that it proved the integrity of Mubarak’s era. In the Muscat Daily, the sentences are of subject verb order for example, â€Å" the court also acquitted the ex-strongman of corruption charge†, (Muscat Daily 30 November 2014, p. 1) and the same trend can be identified in the whole story including my own version and even in the times of Oman. Use of strong verbs and active voice The tribune of Oman uses strong words such as ex-strongman, the Muscat daily also uses the same term but in my story, I avoided this because it may not depict what I really felt about Mubarak. There is a contrast between my view and that of the other reporters as it appears that he was just doing his own job. Without him, Egypt is not any better, it is worse than before. Use of simple and precise words There are very simple sentences which can be comprehended by any person who has learnt some English be it as a first or second language. The simple words like. â€Å"When I heard the first verdict, I laughed†, Rashidi also acquitted Mubarak of corruption charges for exporting gas to Israel†. (The Oman Tribune 30 November 2014, p. 16). Similarly, in my own hard news, I have written some short sentences like, â€Å" judge said it was not fair to charge him according to the penal code† Not more than three prepositional phrases per sentence. In these writings, like the Oman tribune script, we see sentence such as; â€Å" the court also acquitted the ex-strongman of corruption charge but he will remain in detention because he is serving a three-year sentence in related graft case†. (The Oman Tribune 30 November 2014, p. 16) They are only three in this case. In same news by the Muscat Daily, I met a sentence like; â€Å"seven of his security commanders, including the feared former interior minister Habil al Addy, were acquitted in connection with the deaths of some 800 people killed during the revolt† (Muscat Daily 30 November 2014, p. 1). The same prepositional phases are less than three. References Wilbur S., (1963), â€Å"Communication Development and the Development Process,† in Lucian Pye (Ed.) Communications and Political Development, NJ: Princeton University Press. Mass Media and National Development: The Role of Information in the Developing Countries. Stanford University Press. 1964. ISBN9780804702270. Roberts, D. F. (Eds.). (1971). The process and effects of mass communication (Rev. ed.). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Appendix 1

Persuasive essay on Hard Work -- Essays Papers

Hard work is challenging work. But why does it have to be challenging work? Because challenging work, when intelligently chosen, pays off. It’s the work that people of lesser character will avoid. And if you infer that I’m saying people who avoid challenging work have a character flaw, you’re right†¦ and a serious one at that. If you avoid challenging work, you avoid doing what it takes to succeed. To keep your muscles strong or your mind sharp, you need to challenge them. To do only what’s easy will lead to physical and mental flabbiness and very mediocre results, followed by a great deal of time and effort spent justifying why such flabbiness is OK, instead of stepping up and taking on some real challenges. Tackling challenges builds character, just as lifting weights builds muscle. To avoid challenge is to abandon one’s character development. Now it’s natural that we’ll tend to avoid what’s painful, so if we see challenge as purely painful, we’ll surely avoid it. But in so doing, we’re avoiding some very important character development, which by its very nature is often tremendou...

The Important Role of Women in Combat Essay -- Argumentative Persuasiv

"The women say, the men have kept you at a distance, they have supported you, they have put you on a pedestal, constructed with an essential difference." -Les Guerilleres, Monique Wittig The struggle for women to attain entrance to combat positions within the armed forces has been arduous. Unfortunately, most nation-states do not allow women into battle in any capacity; still, some countries do not allow women to participate in the military at all. However, the introduction of women into combat within the British, Canadian, Danish, German, Israeli, Norwegian, and US forces has been effective in that women have significantly contributed to their success. This success is the strongest advocate for female access to combative positions. The proposal for female integration into combat also relies upon the consideration of combat's definition, gender equality, and the influence of sexist literature. This paper also examines the reasons why women have been kept away from the frontline, women's participation in violent rebel forces, and finally how women have succeeded within the military, especially within the realm of combat. I do not propose a uniform method for militarie s to integrate their female members into war-rather, a specific approach be developed by the nation itself since women's rights and societal roles differ from country to country. While some nations have already recognized women as able for their forces' most aggressive roles, some only employ women in secretarial jobs. To suggest that all countries conscript women for combat would certainly be a disaster, as integration, training, and soothing of female prejudices take time. It is also important to understand that by this proposal, I am not supporting war over dipl... ...eli Military. War in History, 8, 99-100. Retrieved 30 October 2003, from Academic Search Premier database. Miller, L. (1998). Feminism and the Exclusion of Army Women from Combat. Gender Issues, 16, 33-64. Retrieved 7 November 2003, from Academic Search Premier database. OED Online (2003). London: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 13 November, 2003, from http://dictionary.oed.com Rosen, L. & Durand, D. (1996). Cohesion and Readiness in Gender-Integrated Combat Service Support Units: The Impact of Acceptance of Women and Gender Ratio. Armed Forces and Society, 22, 537-53. Retrieved November 7, 2003, from Academic Search Premier database. Smirnov, A. (2002). Women in the Russian Army. Russian Social Science Review, 43, 61-71. Retrieved October 27, 2003, from Academic Search Premier database. Victor, B. (2003). Army of Roses. [Emmaus, PA]: Rodale.

The The Wreck of the Medusa Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"In the moonlight’s ghostly glow, I waken in a dream. Once more upon the raft I stand, Upon the raging sea. In my ears the moans and screams Of the dying ring, Somewhere in the darkness The siren softly sings†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"The architects of our doom Around their tables sit, And in their thrones of power, Condemn those they’ve cast adrift. Echoes down the city street, Their Harpies laughter rings. Waiting for the curtain call, Oblivious in the wings.† Excerpt from the lyrics, â€Å"The Wake of the Medusa†, By The Pogues â€Å"The Raft of the Medusa†, by Theodore Gericault, 1819, was inspired by the catastrophic wreck of the French frigate, The Medusa, on July 2, 1816, off the west coast of Africa, during a voyage to Senagal. The ship ran aground on the Arguin Reef, in calm seas. In an attempt to preserve the lives of 400 passengers aboard, the crew, soldiers, sailors and passengers built a raft, manned the lifeboats and the raft, and abandoned the Medusa. What followed was a most harrowing experience that would challenge the soul and condemn the government of a world power. In 1816 the newly formed French government sent a small fleet of ships to the British port of Saint-Louis, Senegal, carrying the appointed French Governor, Colonel Julien-Desire Schmaltz and his wife, for the formal return of the colony to France. The fleet consisted of four ships, The Argus, The Loire, The Medusa and The Echo. The Medusa was to transport the governor along with 400 passengers, to re-establish the colony. Soon after departing the Port de Rochefort on June 17, 1816, the Medusa, piloted by an inexperienced captain, Hugues Duroy De Chaumereys, sailed quickly away from the rest of the fleet, leaving The Medusa, her crew and passengers to the mercy of the Atlantic. De Chaumereys, an incompetent sea captain, achieved his high ranking position due to political influences, and affiliation to the French Ministry of the Marine. He had prior experience as a customs officer for more than 20 years, and served against Napoleon, gaining him favor of the new Bourbon government, and disfavor among the crew. He resisted the advice of subordinate officers and the personal experiences of more seasoned sailors and caused the wreck of the Medusa on the Arguin Bank. De Chaumereys attempted to save the Medusa by lightening her load and discarding precious cargo designated for the Senegalese colony, into t... ... in the control of a less than qualified captain, and thus jeopardized the entire fleet, the crew and the contents designed for the colony at Senegal. A cover-up was affected, and Captain De Chaumereys was the person deemed liable and summarily court martialed, ruining his naval career. According to Savigny and Correard, â€Å"†¦men decorated with ribbons of all colors, who counted very well the number of their ancestors, but of whom it would have been useless to ask an account of their studies, being called to superior commands, have not been able to show anything but their orders and their unskilfulness. They have done more, they have had the privilege of losing the vessels and people of the State, without its being possible for the laws to reach them; and after all, how could a tribunal have condemned them? They might have replied to their judges, that they had not passed their time in studying the regulations of the service, or the laws of the marine, and that, if they had failed, it was without knowledge or design. In fact, it would be difficult to suppose that they intended to their own destruction: they have but too well proved that they knew how to provide for their own safety.†

Industrialization and Urbanization of Indian Society

In the recent years, the industrialization and urbanization of Indian society has led to an increase in the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere. Air pollution is defined as a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air which has harmful and poisonous effects. Various experiments and studies have shown that long term exposure to such air pollution can lead to serious health issues such as: aggravated cardiovascular and respiratory illness, accelerated aging of lungs, diseases like asthma, bronchitis, cancer and a shortened life span. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 12 million people die from environmental health risks annually. Air pollution has become the 4th highest risk factor for premature deaths.Such degradation in the air quality levels has made air pollution a serious threat at a global level, especially for the developing countries, towards the sustainability of mankind. This has grabbed the attention of public as well as the government agencies. An air quality index (AQI) is a parameter used by the government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air quality currently is and how polluted it is forecast to become. As the AQI of a region increases, an increasingly large percentage of population of that area will experience adverse health effects.Several projects have been launched to combat air pollution in all major countries worldwide. For e.g.: 1): Hebei Air Pollution Prevention and Control Program (HAP- 2016:18) project in China to reduce the emissions of specific pollutants in Hebei; 2): The Odd-Even Scheme implemented by the Indian Government in national capital Delhi (2016). There are ceaseless fighting efforts for air pollution reduction all around the world. As an endeavor on the course of machine learning based air quality forecasting, this report presents an initiative and algorithmic details of various statistical models in solving this challenging problem. The Machine Learning models used in this paper, to facilitate the prediction of pollutant concentrations, include:Linear regressionLogistic RegressionPolynomial regressionRandom Forest ClassificationDecision Tree RegressionDecision Tree ClassificationSupport Vector regressionSupport Vector ClassificationKNN ClassificationWe target our air pollution forecast to the city of Delhi, India as it is at the forefront for battling against air pollution. We focus on predicting the Air Quality Index (AQI) level of Delhi, as it is a quantitative method to profile air pollution level. In order to reduce the pollution levels in Delhi, we will be analyzing 5 pollutants and 5 other environment parameters responsible for increase in AQI levels. The fixed station data is taken for 3 stations namely : NSIT (Dwarka), RK Puram and Shadipur . Objectives:Compare results of Air Quality Index (AQI) values obtained by different regression models and then propose the best model.Classify the dataset into 5 different AQI categories, and then use Classification models to forecast the pollution category for next month.Analyze the most prominent pollutant, using Back Propagation, responsible for air pollution and suggest methods to control it.The rest of this paper is organized as follows: Section II describes related work, and Section III provides background on data sources, participatory sensing systems and details the 5 regression and 5 classification models used in this study. Section IV describes the steps in our model, while model implementation and estimation accuracy is studied in Section V. The paper concludes in Section VI.

Adidas Internal Analysis Essay

1. Introduction Competition and competitive markets are common in every industry. Especially since Globalization is influencing our economy, companies need to stay competitive in order to survive against new rising competitors, which are basically rooted in the Middle East Asia. Analyzing own strengths and weaknesses and capturing new opportunities or avoiding threats, are one of the most important factors for reaching this goal. This paper is dealing with the German apparel â€Å"Adidas†, which is one of the world’s largest manufacturers for sportswear and sport utilities. But why are they one of the leading global players in this certain industry? There are some key factors, which influenced their worldwide success. A part of different departments, e.g. : research and development, human resources and in-and outbound logistics, which are working together in a fluent way, elements like customer relationship management and brand recognition are the main drivers for capturing new custome rs and the retention of regular customers. The intention of this dissertation will be, to explain Adidas’ internal strategies and the construction of their individual competitive advantage. One important basis for this competitive advantage is the â€Å"resource based view modelâ€Å".The resource-based view as a basis for a competitive advantage of a firm lies primarily in the application of the bundle of valuable intangible and tangible resources at the firm’s disposal. (Crook, T. R., et. al., 2008). In this scientific paper, I will conduct an internal organizational analysis of the firm. I will figure out how and why Adidas is one of the most important companies in its industry and will identify their success. 2. General Information and Organizational Structure The Adidas AG (Adidas Group) is a German multinational corporation, which designs and produces sportswear, accessories and sport utilities. The company is based in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. The corporation basically consists of three companies, â€Å"Adidas†, the brand itself, â€Å"Reebok  sportswear† and â€Å"Tailor-made-Adidas Golf Company†. Reebok is a subsidiary of Adidas since 2005 and also a manufacturer of athletic shoes, clothing and accessories. â€Å"Tailor-made-Adidas Golf Company† designs and markets all products which are related to Golf. The Adidas group is the largest sportswear producer in Germany and Europe and the second manufacturer in the world, right behind â€Å"Nike†. The company was founded in 1924 as the â€Å"Gebrà ¼der Dassler Schuhfabrik†, but was officially registered in 1949 by Adolf Dassler, after the split of â€Å"Gebrà ¼der Dassler Schuhfabrik† between him and his older brother Rudolf. On e of the most important competitors of Adidas was and still is, â€Å"Puma†, which was established by his brother Rudolf Dassler in 1949. The structure of the organization is very well defined. There are different functional departments such as marketing, production, R&D, customer services, operations, distribution, and human resource with clearly defined jobs at all levels. The vision of the Adidas Group is to be the leader in the sportswear industry, with sub-brands built upon a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. In order to achieve the goal a profound understanding of the consumer and customer is essential. To satisfy the needs of the customers it is essential to build a strong customer relationship in order to understand their buying behavior (AdidasGroup, 2013). Adidas ´revenue in 2012 was listed at 14.488 billion euros and profit was listed at 1185 million euros. In 2010, Adidas worked with 1,236 independent factories, in 69 countries. 69% of these factories where located in Asia and the rest in Europe and the U.S. 27% of the Asian factories are based in China. In 2006 the sales of Adidas ´ in the A sian regions and in the emerging countries (South Korea, Romania, Russia, Croatia, and Brazil etc.) increased up to 147,8%. (Annual Report 2012, 2013) 3. Resource Based View 3.1. Tangible/Intangible Criteria In every business are many types of resources and assets. Some resources are clearly visible and tangible and others may not. The Resource Based View is a device to assess the amount of tangible and intangible resources, in order to capture possible capabilities with the goal, to build a sustain competitive advantage. The device is differentiating between intangible and tangible resources. Intangible resources are skills, services, corporate  reputation or knowledge a firm can provide. The collective knowledge of a firm’s workforce represents a tremendous resource. Intangible assets are difficult to quantify in financial terms and often impossible to sell. Education and experience are the main drivers for the knowledge of a corporate workforce, and grows within the structure of a particular industry. Tangible resources are known as raw materials, products or workforce. Corporations that are committed in primary resource extraction have holdings of very tangible goods or reso urces and often own the land outright on which their resources are located or manufactured (Freiling, J., 2001). Furthermore, but less a tangible resource, the corporation owns the rights to the coal, oil or any other raw material, that is located on public land. In both cases, the resource is a physical reality, more or less tangible and the value of which can be financially determined by observing the going market value of a certain good. Regarding â€Å"Adidas†, as one of the most important global players in their industry, it is also possible to distinguish their resources. Adidas is holding more than 50.000 employees, all over the world into their workforce. CNC machines are used in the assembly line for the mass production of shoes, which is more or less their cash cow and keeps them successful. The Research and Development departments are equipped with CAM. Software’s for creating cutting edge designs. The main manufactories are located in Vietnam and China and the bases for the organization are based in Portland, Oregon (U.S) and in Herzogenrauch, Bavaria (Germany) (Adidas Group, 2013). Patents, partnerships, sponsorships and cooperation’s with universities are intangible assets, which Adidas owns. 3.2. Capabilities Especially in times where raw materials and resources are gaining more and more value, companies need to use their assets and resources in the most efficient way, in order to stay competitive. These opportunities are called â€Å"capabilities†. Capabilities can be described as organizationally embedded non-transferable firm-specific resources. (Crook, T. R., et. al., 2008). Capabilities can be divided into distinctive and threshold capabilities. On the one hand, Threshold capabilities or resources are fulfilling the general criteria a firm has to provide, in order to survive on the market. Regarding our example of Adidas, the threshold criteria for their certain industry are  buildings, land, workforce, several departments and outsourced manufactories. But on the other hand, there are distinctive capabilities, which should not just keep the company alive, but deliver a competitive advantage. (Porter, M.E.1980). Also known as core capabilities, distinctive capabilities are the talents and unique elements that are embedded within the organization. These essential characteristics are considered highly preferred, since they provide the business with what it needs to be competitive in the marketplace and also provides the firm a competitive advantage. Therefore distinctive capabilities are generating the core competencies of an organization and are the key driving forces for a company to achieve its competitive advantages. Adidas utilizes its key resources and capabilities to create value and performance excellence. Distinctive capabilities that Adidas holds are e.g., Special R & D departments and correlations (universities), sponsorship agreements (FIFA/ NBA) , diversified operations, network and portfolio, good reputation as mid-priced brand in the industry, distribution network and strategic innovation. (AdidasGroup, 2013). 3.3. Value Chain Analysis Understanding what a particular business or firm is all about, it is necessary to analyze the specific activities the company is going through in their daily work process. The competitive advantage is build up on added values the enterprise is giving their products. Michael Porter ´s â€Å"Value Chain† is modeling a chain of different activities, companies are performing in order to deliver and provide valuable products or services. Porter is differentiating between primary activities and supporting activities. Primary activities are more or less focusing on generating profit margin and to exceed the cost structure of particular products. These activities are mainly enabled by supporting activities, which are industry-specific (Daft, L.R., 1983). By sourcing the activities, process flows can be mapped and can be used to isolate specific activities, in order to decrease the cost structure. Focusing back on Adidas, the company is separating their activities as following; in-/ and outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales and services as primary activities. Supporting activities in their  key industry are; procurement, research and development and human resource management. Value chain analysis examines business’ units and examines how products pass through the chain, in order from inbound logistics to service, market & sales and other sections. The information provided shows where in the chain products are slowed or altered from the intended design or its usage. 4. Competitive Advantage One of the most important goals of Adidas has been, to develop a strong competitive advantage, in order to stay successful and survive against the large number heavyweight competitors. The industry, in which Adidas interacts, is characterized by a set of many specific features. The extreme rivalry between Adidas and its competitors, Nike, Puma or New Balance is higher than ever before. Nevertheless, most of these brands outsourced their production and re-defined themselves as brands or marketing organizations. Despite the fact that Adidas currently ranks right behind Nike in the segment of sports shoes and sportswear market, Adidas still has been a successful business enterprise right from the beginning of their establishment by Dassler in 1945. The encouragement and application of a spirit of constant and updated technological innovation and excellence has resulted in generating such a powerful competitive advantage for Adidas that its market opponents find it hard to beat. The high performance, market orientation, technological development and brand promise, created the expected value for customers. Especially the company’s policy and corporate culture, that includes providing their customers with the necessary technological applications, in order to meet and satisfy the full needs of their end-consumer. (Kumar, V. & Reinartz W. 2012). Ultimately, this translates to tailor-made performance products for individual customers. Tailor-made is concentrating on especial product line and a particular market segment. Therefore technological superiority of its products is the primary factor of market penetration for Adidas. Nevertheless, an intense and targeted marketing mix and strategy is the second most important key driver of success. An important fact and promotional tool for products has been, to integrate celebrities and professional sport idols into their  marketing mix. This strategy seemed to be very successful and generated a steady source of profit and sales. Consumers appreciated and enjoyed the emotional experience, to share the same daily products with their idols or people, who are influencing them. Furthermore, Adidas is following the main rules of Customer relationship management. Feedback from regular customers and surveys about particular products or advertisements created a high level of customer invo lvement and loyalty, what turned out to be the most effective strategy. These methods and tools helped Adidas to develop and build a long-term profitable customer relationship. 5. Conclusion 5.1. SWOT / TOWS During the economic crisis in year 2009, many companies and enterprises suffered turnover, profit and had to restructure their business. Many different factors were key drivers for this crisis, but not successfully adapted strategies regarding supply and demand. Consultants, who are analyzing and advising enterprises, implement different methods and tools, in order to improve the client’s business. One of these powerful tools is the SWOT- Analysis. But what is SWOT? How should companies or consultants use this tool, in order to succeed? And the most important question is, is Adidas using or ever used this methods, if yes how did they? SWOT is expecting from its users to examine, internal strengths and weaknesses of their business and to summarize external opportunities and threats, in order to develop new strategies for improvement. (Bà ¶hm, A., 2008). After developing these ideas, the proper implementation of them is important as well as the examination itself. The TOWS-matr ix ore the TOWS-analysis involves the same basic process of listing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats like the SWOT analysis is claiming from its users. But furthermore the TOWS analysis is a tool that enables managers to take advantage of opportunities and minimize threats by exploiting strengths and overcoming weaknesses. In case of Adidas the strengths are mainly, their strong brand value as one of the most successful brand, a strong and proven marketing strategy, networks and strong franchising, their leading position in the industry as one of the largest player in the industry, diversified  operations in different parts of the world and the most important strength is their competitive pricing. But the enterprise has also some weaknesses. Some of the weaknesses Adidas might has to struggle with are the bad performance of Reebok in non US markets, stiff competition and similar big brands which means customers have high brand switching, high cost structure and the dependency on sport industry/athletes/sponsorships (Borowski, A. 2011). External factors are including the threats and opportunities. Increasing prices for raw materials, forged product-imitation and the tough competition in the sector with Puma and Nike are the key threats, which could menace Adidas (AdidasGroup, 2013). It is possible to use strengths to avoid threats and to capture opportunities, with the help of the TOWS-matrix. Therefore strategies, which Adidas could use in order to capture opportunities and avoid threats could be, to use diversified operations in different parts of the world and strong brand recognition for sponsorships in growing markets and the well-considered usage of celebrities (not just for advertisement, also for opening private sport academies). To minimize internal weaknesses by capturing opportunities, the enterprise should keep their focus on their strong and proven marketing strategy, networking and their strong franchising, in order to stay competitve and build close long-term customer relationships (Borowski, A. 2011). A part of that, the acquisition of competitors could decrease cost structure and rivalry within the industry and safe their status quo for the future. 6. Bibliography â€Å"Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Infineon: German Equity Preview†. Bloomberg L.P. 16 January 2008. Retrieved on 15th of March from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ah3ZhaeNWMdM&refer=germany AdidasGroup, (2013) Retrieved on 18th of March from http://www.adidas-group.com â€Å"Annual Report 2012†. Adidas. Retrieved on 10th March 2013 from http://www.adidas-group.com/en/investorrelations/financial_data/default.aspx Barney, J.B., (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management. Texas: A&M University. Borowski, A. (2011). Adidas Marketing Strategy – An Overview. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag Bà ¶hm, A., (2008).The SWOT Analysis. Mà ¼nchen: GRIN Verlag. Crook, T. R., et. al., (2008). Strategic resources and performance: A meta-analysis. Strategic Management Journal. UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Daft, L.R., (1983). Organizational Theory and Designs, St. Paul: West Pub. Co. Freiling, J., (2001). Resource-based View und à ¶konomische Theorie: Grundlagen und Positionierung des Resourcenansatzes. Heidelberg: Deutscher Università ¤ts-Verlag. Kumar, V. & Reinartz W. (2012). Customer Relationship Management – Concept, Strategy, and Tools. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., and McHugh, S. M. (2012). Understanding Business (10th edition). UK: McGraw-Hill Education. Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press. Satya Sekhar, G.V., (2009). Business Policy and Strategic Management. New Delhi: I K International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd